Rangika Fernando

Cecil County Health Department

Epidemiologist

National, State, and Local Childhood Obesity Trends and Data

According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America’s Health’s report “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future”, 13.6% of youths ages 10-17 in Maryland are obese. Maryland ranked 31st out of the 50 states and D.C. for childhood obesity.

  • Maryland set nutritional standards for school lunches, breakfasts, and snacks that are stricter than current United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requirements. Twenty states and D.C. have set such standards. Five years ago, only four states had legislation requiring stricter standards
  • Maryland has nutritional standards for competitive foods sold in schools on á la carte lines, in vending machines, in school stores, or through school bake sales. Twenty-eight states and D.C. have nutritional standards for competitive foods. Five years ago, only six states had such standards.
  • Maryland has notpassed requirements for body mass index (BMI) screenings of children and adolescents or legislation requiring other forms of weight-related assessments in schools. Twenty states have passed such requirements for BMI screenings. Five years ago, only four states had passed screening requirements.
  • Maryland has passed Complete Streets legislation, which aims to ensure that all users -- pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities -- have safe access to a community's streets. Thirteen states have passed Complete Streets legislation

According to data collected by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, childhood obesity rates have increased over time nationwide:

Nationwide Obesity Rates by Age and Year

Age / 1980 Obesity Rate / 2003-04 Obesity Rate
5-12 / 5.00% / 13.90%
6-11 / 6.50% / 18.80%
12-19 / 5.00% / 17.40%

The Maryland Youth Tobacco Survey in 2006 found that 13-18 year olds have an 11% obesity rate and a 15% overweight rate. The Maryland Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance found that among children ages 2-5 years of age in the WIC Program, there is a 15% obesity rate and an 18% overweight rate. They also found that Cecil County, along with Montgomery and Talbot Counties, had the highest rate of childhood obesity in children ages 2-5 among the WIC population (more than 18% obese). Cecil County had a prevalence of 12.1% obesity among children ages 13-18. There is a lack of data for children ages 5-12 years of age. African Americans and Hispanic Americans have higher rates of obesity than Whites and Asians. Obesity trends also vary by gender.

References:

F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future Summary for Maryland:

Sources of data for childhood obesity for this report was the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance 2007 report, and the National Survey of Children’s Health 2007 report

Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Family Health Administration’s Chronic Disease Prevention: